


Chat's Lesson on Instinct

by t3rracotta



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Acts Like a Cat, Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng Fluff, Animal Instincts, Dorks in Love, F/M, Fluff, Light Angst, Marichat | Adrien Agreste as Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Mentioned Alya Césaire, Pre-Reveal Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Protective Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, it happens for like a paragraph or so before getting fluffy again, just adrien being a lovesick kitten
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-21
Updated: 2021-03-21
Packaged: 2021-03-25 01:55:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30081714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/t3rracotta/pseuds/t3rracotta
Summary: Chat made a mistake. An extremely embarrassing one. But with Marinette's reactions and his newfound feelings, maybe he's willing to indulge in his instincts a little more.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 1
Kudos: 52





	Chat's Lesson on Instinct

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [And What a Mighty Hunter He Is](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22749304) by [GalahadWilder](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GalahadWilder/pseuds/GalahadWilder). 



Adrien never intended to become such good friends with Marinette as his alter ego. After their short rendezvous on Marinette's balcony, he felt himself inexplicably drawn to her. He would gravitate towards the bakery during his patrols, and he was surprisingly content to just sit and watch her do everyday things, like designing a new clothing item or working on homework. It didn't help that Marinette would always welcome him with open arms, wearing a sweet smile and leaving a plate of croissants on her chaise while she tried to refocus herself. He had to admit that it was nice to see her so comfortable around him. Sure, he was already friends with her as Adrien, but she got nervous around him really easily. He understood that she was a fan, and that she was naturally a little awkward, but the version of herself that she showed to him as Chat Noir was new and exciting.

\---

The beginning of Chat's predicament came completely by chance. He had decided to pop over to the Dupain-Chengs' again, gearing himself up for a lazy night of relaxing and enjoying a certain bluenette's company. Chat was surprised to see Marinette on the balcony as he arrived; usually, she would be in her room and he would have to knock on the trapdoor. He landed deftly on her roof, trying to make as little noise as possible. He didn't want to scare her, per say, but he couldn't say that the thought of her jumping wasn't amusing. He stopped at the edge for a second, crouching down with his hands resting on the roof. In one flowing movement, he jumped down and landed in front of the chair Marinette was currently occupying. "GAH!" she yelled, dropping the piece of fabric that she had previously had in her clutches. After further investigation, Chat deduced that Marinette had been searching for inspiration so she could use the aforementioned fabric. It looked very expensive, satin red meeting velvet heart patches. Chat had the decency to appear sheepish, rubbing the back of his neck as he stood in front of her.

"Sorry, princess, didn't mean to disturb your claw-centration" he jested with ease, using humor to cover up the fact that she could be two seconds away from smacking him and chasing him away. 

"Chat, don't do that!" she yelled incredulously, holding a hand to her heart. "You know how I zone out; I thought you were an akuma!"

"Meowch," he replied, feigning distress. "The princess is so cruel to the poor alley cat. You adopted this stray, how unfortunate that you welcome me this way."

"Whatever, Chat," she says, giggling slightly. He would never admit it out loud, but her giggle sounded like music to his ears. Every time she would laugh at his poorly executed puns or ill-timed embarrassing moments, he was convinced an angel had descended upon him. Another thing he would never admit was how much Chat felt like he belonged when he was with her. No expectations, no loneliness, no ulterior motives. He was just there; a friend to keep her company.

"What are you gonna do with that fabric?" he inquired, picking it up carefully from its forgotten position on the ground. He dusted it off lightly, making sure there was no stain in sight. He had expected a response filled with excitement, but to his surprise she simply sighed and took the fabric back from him.

"I wish I knew. There are so many possibilities, but none of them really fit the fabric, you know? I want it to be perfect; I spent way too much money on this yard for it to go to waste." He nodded, understanding her sentiment. Sure, he had plenty of money to spare, but even he didn't like wasting money. She held the fabric up slightly, inspecting it with a slight look of distaste. "Maybe I could make a set? It's the best idea I have so far..."

"I'm sure anything you make will be purrfect," he offers, hoping she'll look past the pun to see that he's encouraging her. She offered a smile, and asked him for some help in bringing a foldable table up to the balcony. She claimed it was a nice day, and he couldn't argue, but he also hoped that she was using it as an excuse to hide the fact that she was waiting for him. He smiled to himself at that, and went through the trapdoor to help her.

\---

A few hours later, Chat had assumed the position that he had become so accustomed to. Sitting close to Marinette, watching her measure and cut fabric, as well as trying not to dwell on how cute she looked with her tongue slightly poked out in concentration. Even though she was hyperfocused, she would still ask for his opinion once in a while, or show him the progress she had made. The most recent time, she held up a long piece of fabric that she had just finished cutting. "I'm thinking that this will be the skirt," she began, shifting slightly so she could display it to him better. "I don't want to make it too short, but I also don't want it to look like an old lady skirt, not that there's anything wrong with old lady skirts, but it's just not the look that I-" before her rant could continue further, a large gust of wind traveled through the air. Her grip on the fabric seemed a little bit too loose, confirmed by the fact that it was currently flowing out of her reach towards the edge of the building. 

"NO!" she yelled in a panic, running to keep up with the runaway fabric. Chat was frozen for a split second, shocked at how _bad_ the bluenette's luck was. He then sprung into action, running towards the balcony railing. Before he could really think through his actions, he had used the railing to propel him off the building, gliding through the air to snatch the fabric safely in his...mouth? He would have used his hands, but they were currently moving through the air to support himself. He was a hero, of course, but he was also known to do things in the heat of the moment before planning all the way to the end. This time was no different, as he swiftly realized he was freefalling into the alley below him. He had planned to use his baton, really; he had been in a lot of sticky situations where he was about to faceplant and used his weapon to save him. Unfortunately, fate had other plans for him because he got slightly distracted by Marinette yelling his name. His hand paused for who knows what reason, but that second served to be his downfall as he crashed into the alley. To his credit, however, he stuck his arm stick straight out so the fabric wouldn't be dirtied by the unknown substances littering the alley floor.

He groaned lowly, slowly moving off his back to straighten out. He moved his right arm, then his left; neither were broken. That was good. He slowly stood up and proceeded to test out his legs as well. All good there, too. He did a large fist pump despite himself, cheering on the suit that made him nearly invulnerable. Realizing that there was probably a very distraught teenager waiting for him on the roof, he took his baton out (successfully this time) and propelled himself back up. When he reached the top, he saw Marinette move from her position of leaning over the railing to look at him. Her eyes were slightly glassy, he realized with a start, and before he could process the fact that she was about to cry she catapulted herself at him.

"Chat, you are so stupid! The fabric doesn't matter, why would you do that!" she chastised him, all the while she had her arms wrapped around him. He froze, just awkwardly standing there as she held him. "Uh..." he tried, before wincing at how dumb he sounded. She scoffed ever so slightly, and moved him to sit on one of the chairs. She gingerly took the fabric from his mouth, thankfully not getting mad that there could have been some saliva littering the piece. She placed it on the table, _under_ her sewing machine this time, so it didn't have a chance to escape for a second time.

She moved back to Chat, before doing something that made his breath catch. She smiled, grinned even, looking like she had just won the lottery. "Kitty, thank you so much..." she trailed off, still smiling so hard her cheeks had to be getting sore. She moved suddenly, beginning to scratch behind one of his ears. If he wasn't shocked before, he certainly was now. She was petting him! Full on scratching him like he was a real cat. What made him reel even more was the fact that he enjoyed it so much; he practically melted as she continued to thread her fingers through his hair, offering sweet swipes of her nails against his scalp every now and then. He was extremely disappointed when she moved, however he had another round of shock when he felt her soft lips on his nose. She kissed the tip of his nose. She _kissed_ him! Yes, he knew it was a kiss to the nose, and very chaste at that, but she had still given it to him!

"You should go home," she said softly, smiling when he opened his half-lidded eyes to look at her curiously. "That's enough excitement for one day. You're welcome back any time, you know that. Now shoo," she finished, grabbing his hand lightly to pull him off the chair and usher him towards the roof. He wanted to stop her, to tell her that he dealt with akumas all the time. The fall really hadn't scared him that much, and he had no injuries. He ended up staying silent, though, and jumped up to the roof despite himself. 

"Until next time, princess," he said simply, before vaulting himself away.

\---

Adrien fell back into bed, laying sprawled out while remaining a little dazed. He saved her fabric, fell off a building, provided her with the lost fabric, and received lots of affection in return. Simple, right? No, not at all. He wanted to crawl in a hole out of embarrassment, yet at the same time he wanted to charge back over to her and demand more petting. That fact alone had him spiraling in embarrassment all over again. _Successful hunt_ , a voice supplied in the back of his brain. This thought caused him to halt all other chaos; hunt? _Yes, hunt_. The voice came again. _Hunted for owner, successful hunt. Gave owner present_. He jolted up into a sitting position, looking at Plagg as he munched on some camembert. Owner?! No, Marinette wasn't his owner. He wasn't a cat, he was a teenage boy. He kept saying this, but he couldn't deny that he felt a jolt of pain when denying Marinette as his owner. Oh, GOD, he was acting like an actual cat. A real stray cat that had claimed another as his owner. Saying that word should have felt so wrong, really, but instead all he was left with was a warm feeling.

"Plagg," he began desperately. "Am I supposed to be acting like such a cat?!" Plagg shrugged, acting like this conversation was as normal as talking about the weather.

"Our feelings combine even when you're not transformed, you know. I like Marinette; she's sweet, and takes good care of us."

Adrien couldn't deny that, much as he wanted to. "So... this isn't weird? That we.. hunted for her? Is it weird that I have the itching desire to do it again, and again? And then a few more times after that?"

Plagg shook his head, downing another slice of camembert. "You are a cat, kid. You're a human first, obviously, but as a cat god, you'll become like me eventually. If we both want the same thing, nothing can stop our instincts from switching over fully to those of a cat. We both like Marinette, a lot. So, we have claimed her as our owner. Cats hunt and leave presents for their owners. We want to do the same. Can't control primal instincts," he finished, moving to lay on his side of the bed. Well, more like his pillow; it's not like he can fully take up his side of the bed. Adrien slowly laid down again too, feeling slightly comforted by Plagg's words. _It's not weird_ , he repeated to himself. _It's instincts_.

\---

A few days later, Adrien was taking his time to walk home from a photoshoot. Usually, his father wouldn't have dreamed of letting him go anywhere without his bodyguard, but Gabriel had an event to attend and had to temporarily switch Gorilla's duties to tend to himself. Adrien was completely okay with that, if he was being honest; he loved his bodyguard of course, who spent more time with him than probably anyone else. Despite that, he liked a little bit of alone time that took place somewhere other than his room. It was late September at this point, so the extra breeze every so often wasn't strange. Thinking about the breeze brought back the memory of what happened a few days prior, so he quickly readjusted his focus. He instead chose to watch the way the leaves flew through the air; specks of brown, red, and green painted an abstract picture in stark contrast with the blue sky. Perhaps staring at the leaves was a mistake, though, because thinking about them as art pieces made them more desirable. Not for him personally, of course, but he started wondering if Marinette would appreciate them as much as he had while they were in motion. _Crap_ , he thought, as the feeling to hunt made itself known. It felt different from when he saved the fabric, but also similar somehow. He fought with himself for about 5 seconds, before ducking into the park bathroom to transform.

Once he successfully shifted into his alter ego, he surged out of the bathroom to jump on top of its roof. From there, he could clearly see the leaves continuing their dance. He prepared himself, before launching into the air to begin his mission.

After an admittedly embarrassing amount of time, he had gathered an impressive pile of the previously falling leaves. Satisfied, he prepared himself to take off in favor of reaching the bakery. He paused, however, when he realized that he couldn't carry them all at the same time; he was adamant about not losing a single one (not that Marinette would notice either way). He frowned slightly, before looking around him. There was a scarf that seemed to have been forgotten on a bench not too far away from him. He debated it briefly, before deeming it satisfactory enough. He swiftly walked to it, before discreetly picking it up. Surely the owner wouldn't miss it too much, right?

Before he had the chance to dwell on the fact that he had stolen something, he focused on his next task; securing the leaves in the scarf. He spread it out to its full length and width, and was happy to find that it would fit all of them with space to spare. He quickly gathered them in the middle of the scarf, before tying it carefully. He hopped back on the roof, before realizing that he would once again be carrying something in his mouth. _It has nothing to do with my cat instincts_ , he tried to convince himself. _I just need my hands to hold my baton_.

With that poor attempt of convincing, he pulled his baton out and set off, making a beeline for the familiar bakery.

\---

After finally landing, he began to feel a little nervous. Pushing those negative feelings down, he knocked on the trapdoor. He had assumed she was home, but it wasn't dark yet, so there was a chance that she was out doing something. They hadn't made any plans as a group, but Marinette and Alya often didn't tell them when they were hanging out by themselves. He felt a flicker of panic, now scared that she was either not home or in her room with Alya, who would have a field day with the knowledge that Chat Noir visited her best friend enough to be comfortable knocking. Unbeknownst to him, the trapdoor began opening. When he saw a flash of blue, however, he refocused, and breathed a huge sigh of relief to find that Marinette was, indeed, home. After a quick glance behind her, he was also happy to find that Alya was nowhere in sight. Marinette was alone. Good. She finally emerged fully, wearing the sweet smile she usually did. She gestured into her room, silently asking if he would like to come in. He accepted quickly, jumping down onto her bed before continuing to the chaise. She looked at him weirdly, which he found strange. That was until he realized that the scarf holding his hunted leaves was still in his mouth, despite his arms now being open. He quickly opened his mouth, watching the bundle fall at his feet. He quickly picked it up, worried that the leaves would crinkle. He didn't want to gift her damaged leaves.

She finally broke the silence, asking the obvious question. "What is that?" she asked quietly, and he realized that she was giving him an out in case it was something he didn't want to share with her. His heart soared lightly at that; of course she would be so considerate and not pry.

"It's...for you," he said after a few seconds, placing it on the chaise next to him. She raised an eyebrow, clearly more curious now that she was allowed to know what was inside the parcel. His initial plan was to watch her open it and boast about how good of a hunter he was for her. As he stood there, however, he felt himself becoming super uncomfortable. He quickly straightened up, standing and moving towards her bed. "I have, you know, superhero stuff to do. But, uh, let me know what you think of it, okay? If you want, of course!" He could admit that he was rambling slightly, but it gave him the time he needed to reach the trapdoor. He jumped up, before poking his head back into the room. "Cat out!" he yelled before once again disappearing from Marinette's sight. As he raced back towards the Agreste mansion, he couldn't help but broadly grin. Hunt successful.

\---

Over the next week, Chat's ministrations continued, if not multiplied. He would see a small bird, and find himself giving chase before he could think through it. He would, of course, find himself stopping shortly after. His allergies always got in the way, making him stop and sneeze every few seconds. The bird easily left the scene, leaving him upset and congested.

It extended much further than the birds, though. Anything that moved, anything that looked pretty, anything that reminded him of Marinette. He wanted to get it all for her. His embarrassment slowly dissipated, because he was getting used to the idea of getting things for her. Thankfully, he had stopped stealing stuff (though he tried to reason that the forgotten scarf was public property at that point). He found himself buying things after a few days; things that weren't too expensive, though he wanted so badly to spoil her with only the best. Once these feelings of warmth and belonging were unleashed, he found himself quickly falling. Everything reminded him of his "owner" in some way; that blue necklace matched the color of her hair, he had seen her looking at that hair clip online before, and so on. Deep down he knew that he was most likely in love with her, but the conscious Chat wasn't ready for that revelation.

The craziest thing of all was how the dynamics between him and Ladybug shifted. Of course he still loved her, and he would probably never stop. He started focusing on that less, however. He became more focused when battling akumas, despite being in his lady's presence. Not necessarily because he decided to be a dedicated hero suddenly, but because he wanted it done as fast as possible so he could be on the lookout for new possible gifts.

He would have probably stopped if Marinette asked him to; if she became uncomfortable, he would back off and spend the next week hidden in his room like a kicked puppy (though he hated that metaphor, because if he was one thing it was definitely NOT a dog). Marinette reacted the opposite, to his misfortune or pleasure he couldn't decide. She would get a shy smile whenever he brought her something, playing with her hair (which he noticed she usually left down during the weekends. She looked so beautiful with her hair flowing around her shoulders, he had noticed- not that he had been staring or anything). The first time he noticed a blush working its way onto her cheeks, his heart almost stopped. Watching a shy, blushing Marinette holding something he had gotten for her was almost too much to bear. He may have needed to rush home quickly in order to scream into his pillow, but he would never say that out loud.

\---

To say Marinette was confused was an understatement. She wasn't mad; she didn't have any negative emotions at all if she was being honest. But that was the problem. She wasn't supposed to be liking this additional attention so much! When he brought the first gift, the scarf full of leaves, she was extremely bewildered. Even more so when he quickly rushed off after supplying her with the bundle. Once she opened it, her bewilderment wasn't appeased at all. Leaves? She wasn't sure what she was supposed to do with them. A small part of her, the part that she initially tried to squash, was flattered that Chat had brought her something so inconsequential; maybe it didn't have a lot of sentimental value, but he thought of her. He thought of her enough to want to bring her something, even if she wasn't sure what to do with that something. She examined the scarf, before an idea popped into her head. She swiftly got to work, making the scarf into a beautiful fabric belt. She was extremely pleased with the outcome, and that didn't help the warm feelings she held for the interaction that day.

As the days went on, Chat didn't ease up on his surprise visits with items tucked in his mouth each time. She didn't even think much of the whole in-the-mouth thing, which she really should have. I mean, it made sense when he was on his way over, but did he have to look like the definition of a cat crouched on her bed, eyes wide with something hanging from his mouth? She giggled slightly at the memory of how he looked, trying not to dwell on the fact that she found him obscenely adorable. She thought back on all the things that he had brought over time; the leaves in the scarf, a hair pin, fabrics of different sorts, a bag of cookies she HOPED he didn't steal, and some other oddities. She looked at her desk, seeing the Eiffel Tower figurine standing proudly among her other belongings. She touched it softly with a sappy smile, thinking about how much it meant to her. Maybe he got it for her for no specific reason; they lived in Paris for gods sake! But to her, it reminded her of the time she made the sunglasses for Jagged Stone. That was her first big break, and the small chance that he knew and remembered that made her heart do somersaults.

That was the other problem, she thought bitterly. She was Ladybug and Marinette, both of which had a sickeningly sweet crush on her classmate Adrien. As much as she tried to deny the fact that Chat had wormed his way into her heart, her attempts were halfhearted at best. She began to wish he were around her more than he already was, which was ridiculous because she saw him almost everyday between his spontaneous visits and akuma cleansings. _That was different_ , she thought. Sure, it was still her with him during those attacks, but he had no way of knowing that her and Ladybug were one and the same. To him, Ladybug was the girl of his dreams, while Marinette was a completely different person.

That thought stung her heart way more than she thought it was. _I'm a friend_ , she realized with a start. _Just like with Adrien. He cares about me, but not in the way I think I'm beginning to about him. It happened with Adrien, and now Chat too?! Why can't anyone like me as Marinette?_

Tikki quickly flew to Marinette's cheek, rubbing her head against the soft plane affectionately. Marinette smiled slightly, moving her hand to cup Tikki's small body. "I know, Tikki," she said quietly, content to spend this soft moment with her kwami. 

"Don't worry, Marinette. It will all work out. And if it doesn't, then they're both as blind as bats and as dumb as rocks," she finished defiantly, a certain fire blazing in her eyes. Marinette couldn't help but giggle slightly at that, flattered that Tikki would get that upset on her behalf.

"You're right Tikki, I know you are. It just hurts a little, you know?" Tikki didn't respond, instead motioning towards Marinette's bed. She glanced at the time before nodding slightly. It was getting late, and she regrettably had school the next day. She quickly changed into her pajamas and decided to keep her hair in her normal pigtails. They sometimes got a little uncomfortable pressed up against the pillow, but in the event of being late to school (which happened far too often), she learned that leaving them in saved a lot of time. Pulling the covers open, she huffed a light sigh as she laid down. Cocooning herself in her blankets, she closed her eyes to begin her descent to dreamland.

It couldn't have been that long before she was awoken to a light tapping. In her sleep addled brain, she hadn't actually thought she had woken up. In her mind, this was a dream, and a strange start to one at that.

She opened the trapdoor slightly, startling ever so slightly at Chat looking intently back at her. She smiled slightly, opening the door fully so he could jump in. He plopped down on her bed, and she noticed the by now normal sight of an odd item in his mouth. "Chat," she admonished with no real malice; her smile made sure he knew that.

"I know, I know," he said quickly, shaking his head slightly. "But I had to. I couldn't resist."

"Speaking of that," she began, shifting slightly. "Why do you keep buying me things? I really don't need all of the stuff..."

He quickly placed the item to the side, shifting closer to the girl. "I don't buy them. Well, I mean, I do buy some of them. But for the most part, I hunt them. There's a difference."

She looks up into his eyes, squinting slightly. "You...hunt them?" she repeated his phrasing, tilting her head slightly in confusion. He tried not to focus on how cute that action was. He nodded fervently, gesturing to the window with one arm.

"When I'm out, if I see something that brings on the urge to hunt, I do. And I bring them to you," he finished, turning back to her. It was pretty dark, but he swore there was the smallest hint of a blush on her cheeks. His heart soared with the notion.

"May I ask why you're... hunting?" she asks hesitantly, not wanting to step too far. She valued privacy above most else, and the thought of making him uncomfortable or mad brought tears to her eyes unknowingly.

Seeing her eyes slowly fill with tears, he panicked. Without thinking it through completely, he pulled her into a loose embrace. She stiffened for a little bit, before gingerly returning the hug. He relaxed too, though he didn't even realize he was tense. He was thankful that she didn't pull away. She moved slightly, but only to make herself more comfortable, leaning her head against his shoulder and resting her hands on his mid-back. He smiled lightly, before replying.

"Apparently becoming a cat superhero makes me more of a cat than I was aware of at first. Like, you know how cats hunt right? They bring sort of presents to their owners, even it's not something the owner necessarily wants. You should be glad I haven't brought you any dead animals, though I have tried to hunt a few birds and maybe a mouse or two. Since I'm human, as well, I understand what the concept of gifts is better and try to get you things you'd like, though the leaves were a little bit of a wild card-"

Marinette's head swept up to look at him, and he stopped dead in his tracks. Don't think about how close she is. Her eyes boring into his own. Nope, that didn't bother or excite him at all.

"Owner?" she questioned, her eyes softening as a miniscule smile came to her lips. He cleared his throat, moving away slightly. He didn't notice the disappointed look she wore for a few seconds, just like he didn't notice that he was wearing the same look.

"It's, uh," he paused for a second, gathering his wits. "It's embarrassing, I know. But you make me feel like the luckiest cat out there. I feel like, I don't know, like I belong here? Your room is really inviting and you always make sure I'm comfortable. That's... nice. I'm not used to that, regrettably. So I may or may not have, uh... claimed you? God that sounds weird," he finished, wincing. Sure, he had been referring to her as such for as long as this had been going on. But saying it to her face? He wished her bed could swallow him up so he could avoid any reaction. What he didn't expect, however, was for her to move into his space again. She put her hand lightly on his chest, looking up. He stared at her, willing her to say whatever she was thinking of.

"Oh, Chat..." she said softly, concerned at the little bit of personal information he let slip. Not used to being comfortable? The thought made her mentally frown, but she didn't want to outwardly do it and make him think she was upset. "I'm glad you're comfortable. Of course hearing a human say I own them is a little disconcerting, but you're also kind of a cat so... it's okay? I think? In any case, I don't mind," she finished, smiling shyly. He replied with a smile of his own, placing his own hand over the one currently residing on his chest. She looked down bashfully for a few seconds, and he was about to ask her what was wrong when she jerked her head back up. "Stay with me tonight."

He balked, scrambling to put a little distance between them. She quickly brought up both of her hands, waving them frantically. "NO, no, not like that. Chat- calm down. I meant just like... lay beside me? Your presence is as comforting to me as mine is to you," she whispered that last part, glad that he had calmed down midway through her sentence. He took a deep breath, extremely embarrassed that he had taken her plea in an... admittedly different direction. He was thankful, though, because the prospect of curling up next to her sounded way too good to pass up.

Slowly, she got back under her covers, opening them up and inviting him. He carefully infiltrated them, keeping eye contact to make sure that she was okay with it. She simply nodded, before scooting closer. She laid her head on his chest, sighing contentedly. He settled down, running his right hand up and down her back. She cuddled closer, and just the thought of being surrounded by her and her scent and everything else had him purring. He winced, but she just giggled and got even closer. If that was even possible.

Marinette would have been morbidly petrified if she was in her right mind while inviting her alter ego's partner to stay the night. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) for her, she was still convinced that this was a dream and that her newfound feelings for Chat were creating this intimately romantic scene. She drifted off, but not before feeling a soft brush of lips on the crown of her head. She fell asleep once again, this time with a smile, hoping that this dream would never end.

\---

Marinette woke up with a start, finding Tikki to be insistently poking her face. "Wake up! You're three minutes away from being late to school," she chastised, watching Marinette scramble to get dressed and grab everything she needed for school that day. She stumbled over something on the floor, grumbling as she grabbed it without looking and placed it on the edge of her desk. She quickly did a once over, confirming that she hadn't forgotten anything. She quickly left the room, still not realizing that the item she had just tripped over was the present from Chat Noir in the early hours of that morning. If she had realized, she would have had a breakdown for the better part of that morning, so perhaps it's a good thing that she didn't realize. Yet.

As she stumbled out the bakery door, swiftly walking towards her destination, a pair of striking green eyes watched her go. Yes, he should probably be in as much of a rush as she was; he would likely be late. He couldn't find it in himself to care, though, as he watched the bluenette continue on her way. He smiled softly, getting up and stretching. He ran a hand through his hair quickly, before pulling out his baton. "I could get used to this," he muttered to himself fondly, before propelling himself towards Francois Dupont.

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first time writing a fanfiction, so nerves are very high currently. thank you for reading! i'm actually somewhat proud of this, though i wrote it in a single day....


End file.
